Pupils from John O'Gaunt School in Hungerford got an insight into the world of personal finance recently with a series of workshops delivered in partnership between Newbury Building Society and educational charity, WizeUp (registered charity number 1190032).
Under the national curriculum, financial literacy is taught as part of maths and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education lessons. However, a recent study into money education in England by an all-party parliamentary group recently found that learning is sporadic, with many young people left poorly equipped for financial independence in the future.
“As a financial institution, I strongly believe it’s partly our responsibility to educate the next generation on how to manage their money”, said Emma Lavers, Marketing Support Manager at the Society. “Our sessions with WizeUp offer really useful tips on topics such as budgeting which can be applied to every stage of life, whether it’s managing weekly lunch money at school, or saving a deposit for your first home.”
The aim of WizeUp’s workshops is to build money skills for the future, increasing awareness of the need to understand your finances and helping young people to feel more confident to manage their personal finances when they’re older.
It was fantastic to be with John O’Gaunt school recently. The students were really engaged with the lessons, asked lots of questions, and gave great feedback. We hope and believe that the students are better equipped to move forward to handle money well.
Deborah Arden-Hunt is a teacher of Media, Religious Studies and PSHE at John O’Gaunt She said: 'WizeUp explained the background of money in a student accessible way from bartering to interest and budgeting to taxation, with plenty of activities and discussion."
To find out more about our financial education initiatives at both primary and secondary school-level, please visit our webpage.
